Let us kiss away July with this final reflection on some of the new releases discovered in the 2nd half of the month

Manic Street Preachers - "Your Love Alone Is Not Enough"
This duet from the latest Manics CD is big big big. Big chorus, big production, yes it's arena sized! The last lp made some halfhearted overtures towards art while this one is pure spectacle all the way. So decide which version of the Manics you prefer, the rock stars or the artists. After all, they've pulled this trick off before. Played during an Aural Fixation fill-in on 7/28/07.

Simple Kid - "The Twentysomething"
This Yep Roc artist makes some basic overtures towards the twang quotient needed to be on the label, but prefers a late 60's psych template (think heavy bass, drumbreaks galore, tuneful like a glorious late model Beatles disaster) mixed with some Odelay period Beck. Here he attempts to craft an ambiguous anthem for a generation, singing about the speed of life behind a loping background about 40 years out of pace.

North Elementary - "Your Lights Are Turning"
Can't say this new ep capitalizes on the goodwill forged from their previous release. Instead it's a basic indie-rock playbook entry with out of tune instruments / vocals melded with a splash of bright jangle and muddy drums. Fights fitfully for tempo, any tempo at all.

Ghost House - "Traditional"
They sent us an ep and an lp at the same time to maximize the potential for exposure, I slightly preferred the urgent rock style of the ep to their Dismemberment Plan-lite lp. This one's a straight ahead emo tune disguising its influences behind heavy bass, fuzzy guitar and a chirpy organ. Doesn't come close to Les Savy Fav, but it's closer than the full-length.

The Brunettes - "Small Town Crew"
Charming boy/girl duo make the jump to Sub Pop and take a fall in the process. Their second lp had a woozily cute crew of twee pop tunes with simple slice-of-life subject matter(s) that reticently earned its goodwill. Unfortunately this time the male lead proudly flaunts his lack of vocal talent instead of following the female's more subdued tact. More unfortunately, they fall prey to the 'more extraneous instruments is better' trend, including an overly intrusive chorus on the opening cut. The titles suggest there might be something to embrace in the lyrics, but panning for gold here only brought up dust.

Bishop Allen - "Middle Management"
This album seems to be made up of cuts previously recorded for their monthly ep series last year. I don't begrudge that strategy, but unfortunately they harvested some mid-packers instead of selecting the best efforts. Perhaps the intent was for a more consistent tone, they can claim victory there. I'm more than happy to forgive 50% clinkers on an ambitious project, but can't decipher why they'd leave their best jewelry in the drawer for the full-length.

Little Wings - "Beep About"
Nice Soft Machine logo swipe on the cover of this slight new ep. Little Wings have never been known for their cohesiveness, but this one's even wispier than previous efforts. This song has a Simon Joyner-esque 70's drug-folk shamble to it and in the lyrics cleverly weaves in a myriad of definitions for the 'beep' in the title. Kudos to the drummer for holding the whole thing together. Spun on 7/26/07.

Grampall Jookabox - "Take Me From Diamond Head"
With a such a terrible band name they better deliver the goods, and earn some early goodwill with the whistling intro on this busker-level garage folk tune. Pretty much what you'd expect from the band name actually, a fair bit of earthy acoustics and hyper-howling backing vocals executed with energetic abandon and an intentional mispronounciation of "superfluous."

John Vanderslice - "The Parade"
While John's thematic crossword puzzle songwriting will always be beyond reproach in my book, musically I sometime have difficulty grasping his direction. Here he melds some vague yet compelling remembrances of (his?) youth with heavier than normal musical execution. Everything on the album is still delightful pop with wonderful splashes of piano and intricate backing vocals, but the production jacks up the bass and drums past the point of obscurity. The gentler tunes (of which this is a precious one) still work, but the balance of the album beats my ears beyond comprehension. Played this on 7/19/07.

The Information - "Armed Resistance"
Local band can't quite decide whether to go the commercial post/new new wave route or stick to punkier execution. Just like on their album the mix occasionally creates some Interpol-level gems, including this one with a synthtastically bursting chorus that earns its emotional power during the punchy verses. Designed for car stereos everywhere and destined to be a hit in Seattle, hopefully it gets utilized beyond the plane-jane mp3 submission we received here at WMBR.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - "Isis"
After the bland by-the-numbers smashing contained in their previous full-length this ep provides promise for the future. Played on 7/26/07, the majority of these cuts are imbued with the authentic punch and energy of the first ep (and lp) by keeping it (relatively) simple, stupid. Karen's voice soars and sprays lyrics with just enough consequence to convince you there's more importance than it deserves, which is quite a sweet spot if you ask my opinion. Keep the howling, keep the songs building to an orgasmic conclusion, and keep that streetcorner fashion look fashionable.

Nervous Patterns - "Not Living In A Modern World"
Speaking of simple, just take a mondo-distorted guitar and viciously yelped vocals repetitively working the same lyrics between rapid fire chorus/verse and I'm happy. The punk-garage energy and overdriven organ of Dirtnap type quality is fiercely on display.

Simian Mobile Disco - "State Of Things"
If it has a beat and harkens back to Daft Punk of ten years hence odds are I'll find a reason to reserve it on one of these comps. Which means it's well-paced boopy electronic fun intended to fill-up the dancefloors but still sorely in need of a remix due to one too many breaks in the action. Call it self-sabotage, Simian Mobile Disco are smart enough to know how to make us pay twice for a very similar serving.

The Tuss - "Rushup I Bank 12"
Highly kinetic electronics with glitchy drumbeats so infected with ADD that they can't keep the same beat for more than 10 seconds. While they hop, skip and drop expect just about every other synthesized sound imaginable from shoegazery splashes to insect scrapes and warbly tones. Supposedly hip-hop inspired, I'd hate to hand any MC the responsibility to flow with this fractured fury.

Digitata - "Bangin J.A."
One of those songs that sound good on first spin, but about halfway through playing it on 7/28/07 I began to regret my decision. Not that it's overly offensive, it just tries to carry about 30 seconds of pleasure 4 minutes too long. The female lead struggles with forays into unwanted blues-infused over-emoting behind some fine drumming and decently simple synths that try a bit too hard to take center stage as the song progresses. J.A. = Jessica Alba?

Bola - "Halyloola"
A laid back carousel of delicately hand-crafted beats bobs and weaves with some heavily tweaked vocals occasionally making the mix. Definite concert report material, as it's too repetitive to really earn foreground status but still decisively deserves some airtime.

Lowlife - "Hollow Gut"
Another re-issue gift from our friends at LTM of this mid-80s Scottish band which deftly balanced pure Bauhaus goth delerium with their poppier period instincts. The vocals are note-perfect low (especially when doubled) and the superb synth splash delightfully accentuates fabulously hollow drumming and chugging bass guitar. While neither of the Lowlife collections are even 50% winners, the standouts honestly earn that overused forgotten classic tag.

A Sunny Day In Glasgow - "Laughter (Victims)"
Tour only-ep that at first I thought was a live show set to CD-R only to realize these sound more like demo takes or altered versions of songs on their previous releases. Or it could be all-new, I could hardly tell behind the delicious feedback from America's lastest darling in the shoegazer revival. If you're gonna do it do it right, and they take it to heart. Maybe it's that 1st hand-crafted ep they sent us, repackaged and expanded?

Low In The Sky - "Dialogue With A Shadow"
This was our concert report music on 7/19/07. Unlike the Bola this omninous instrumental effort deserves a foreground spin in the near future, as their slippery concoctions keep me guessing about which pace or instrument is just around the bend. Thudding drums mix with a rucksack full of instruments either plucked, blown or flanged. However, they smartly resist the urge to stir them all into the same pot, instead letting each alternately add their own flavor to the broth before stepping aside for another whipped cream delight.

Hope In Ghosts - "Something Is Going To Land Here Any Minute"
While I don't mean to insult the foreground vocalist who shows up on several of this record's tracks, he comfortably should shut off the mike and leave the driving to his partners. An occasionally vague hidden line or two is fine, mind you. In deference to accuracy please note the band takes the smart route by leaving a wide majority of the songs unadorned, instead focusing on a potent flow of instrumental rock with a minor in math.

Johnny Irion - "Short Leash"
Better than the new Ryan Adams, though I suppose that's faint praise in this setting. Played on 7/26/07. Johnny has a slightly nasal execution but uses the female backing vocalists well to cover up any high notes that might waver beyond his reach. Otherwise I can't rank it anywhere near Ryan's best efforts, but a hungry man like myself will gladly accept any saltines you might have to offer.

You're listening to the Breakfast of Champions on WMBR Cambridge. Here's the playlist for July 26, 2007.

(8:00am - the cubbyhole visits the letter "P")
The Penetrators - "Rock 'n' Roll Face"
Penetration - "Life's a Gamble"
Pennywise - "No Reason Why"
Pegboy - "Through My Fingers"
The Peeps - "He's So Fine"
Pell Mell - "Par Avion" (background music)

(8:15am - this week we're exploring the PED to PET section of our vinyl library)
The Pedaljets - "Hide & Go Seek"
The Perfect Disaster - "What's The Use of Trying?"
Al Perry and the Cattle - "Biblical Sense"
Perfect Strangers - "2 Steps Back"
Pelt - "Heraldic Beasts" (background music)

(8:30am - taking a pause for the band of the week)
Beck - "Debra"
Beck - "Steve Threw Up"
Penguin Cafe Orchestra - "More Milk" (background music)

(8:45am - wrapping up the exploration of P)
Pere Ubu - "Humor Me"
David Peel & The Lower East Side - "The Members of 1984"
Peter and Gordon - "I Don't Want To See You Again"
Jim Pepper - "Fast War Dance" (background music)

(9:00am - the 2nd half of the program will focus on new music)
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - "Isis"
Nervous Patterns - "Not Living In A Modern World"
Fridge - "Clocks" (concert report music)

(9:20am - sometime after the concert report has concluded)
Oh No! Oh My! - "Oh Be One"
Johnny Irion - "Short Leash"
Grampall Jookabox - "Take Me From Diamond Head"
Little Wings - "Beep About"
The National - "Start A War"

(9:40am - continuing the new music hour)
Ulrich Schnauss - "Medusa"
Piano Magic - "Incurable (reprise)"
Memphis – “Incredibly Drunk on Whiskey”
Shepherdess - "Not Gonna Be There Now"

(9:55am - Tim Reardon on LRC today)
The Invisible Rays - "DK Ray"

If you missed the program, two weeks of streaming content is available on WMBR's website!

This week marks the end of the weekend after weekend after weekend after weekend (etc etc) march of family and fun responsibilities infringing on my oh-so-frequent updates to this blog. Enough with the excuses, onto the early July releases.

Ulrich Schnauss - "Medusa"
The new Schauss eschews the instrumental-only policy of the previous albums and takes a more traditional shoegazer tack. Gone is the slowly unfolding childish whimsy of previous releases, replaced by a more menacing tone and multiple vocalists. This particular tune has a menacing pace not unlike Curve, but with an undistinguishable male vocalist. Spun a different tune on 7/12/07 due to time constraints.

Loden - "Vlugt (And More For You)"
Favorably aligned with the instrumental bits found on M83 records, this tune contains a repetitive synth splash which eventually is supplanted by more overt beats splashing across the landscape. It's more friendly that the typical M83 dirge, with a synthline used to approximate vocals in soaring fashion and a distinguishable chorus-like change in the beats.

Lights Out Asia - "Four Square"
Were aren't out of the shoegazer forest yet, as here's another attempt harkening for the days of incredibly flanged guitars. Lights Out Asia specialize in the type of tunes that commence with a laid-back instrumental vibe but slowly build in tones and layers to a raucous cacophony. There's nothing overtly ear-splitting about the whole mess, and it all abruptly drops out to reveal a backbone of guitar squall before the fadeout. Occasionally fey male vocals work their way into a song, but for the most part the "is it or is it not background music" question isn't answered until the song is well underway. Played on 7/5/07.

Airiel - "Mermaid In A Manhole"
Those of you who prefer your rock shoegazer style have a friend in Airiel. Two distinctly burly guitars whang along behind a vocalist that has studied extensively at the Ride school of singing, with plenty of odds synth tweaks forcing their way into the mix. As a whole the album's pace varies quite a bit, roaming the shoegaze landscape for diverse inspiration that's still consistent in style. Played on 7/5/07.

Northern Picture Library - "Snowscene"
Robert Wratten completists will appreciate this gift from LTM, a release of a rarities package containing singles, eps, compilation tracks and this unreleased effort from the Alaska sessions. Annemari sings in her trademark sweet but dour tones in this typically pretty yet pouty song which fits in well with the "Skylight"s of the NPL library. Played on 7/19/07.

Bat For Lashes - "What's A Girl To Do?"
A 60's throwback in both style and drama with danceable touches that make it reminiscent to early Saint Etienne or more recent El Perro Del Mar releases. Played on 7/12/07. Unfortunately this female-fronted tale of love gone sour was the only jewel worth unearthing on their full-length. "The thrill is gone" indeed.

Interpol - "The Heinrich Maneuver"
Based on the stickers plastered to the front of the new Interpol CD sitting in the display racks at Target stores coast-to-coast I surmise this song is the single. That status didn't stop me from playing it on 7/19/07. I concur that this is the record's finest minute(s), thought repeated listens have not revealed the lyrical connection to the Chicago Bulls point guard. Nevertheless I'm confident in saying there's nothing as fascinating as the high (or even mid) points on Turn On The Bright Lights but at the same time is not as forced as the jubilation contained within Antics. So give 'em 3 stars and move on to better things.

The Book of Lists - "The Bathers"
OK, this may not be the promised "better thing" ... in fact it's rather similar with pseudo-goth vocals and repetitively strummed guitars. However, the poor recording quality here (un?)intentionally melts the rest of the instruments into a muddy black hollow paste that denies the song its punch.

The Big Disappointments - "Dance Track Budokhan"
Do they live up to their name or not? I'll vote in the negative (which is positive for those keeping score at home) for this homegrown jangle punk efforts. I like how the bassist plays every note so distinctly, lends it an 80's punk vibe that works nicely with the insistently scratchy garage guitar and drums. Well-recorded as it delivers on its intentions.

Daddy's Hands - "Gentlemen You May Stand Down"
Maybe that bracing brand of Gun Club rock is making its way back into favorable fashion. The vocalist drawls every syllable to the raspy edge of his throaty voice while an equally splayed country punk guitar wrangles the maximum from every plucked string. Refreshing, played on 7/19/07.

Frisbie - "I Speak Your Mind"
The rationale behind reserving this track was the hope it would reveal itself with Sloan style powerpoppy pleasure purely based on the description. The chorus provides some hope for more goodness which is quickly eroded with the persistent presence of thin keyboards that betray a distracting infatuation with 80s chart pop (think Huey Lewis or some other unholy blend of genres like the Fab T's). This Elvis Costello Armed Forces era attempt quickly takes on water and the situation becomes more desperate with a Tom Petty-esque solo, eventually submerging the tune.

Sweetwater Abilene - "KY3"
Another question mark here, generally if I think there's potential for future appreciation I'll throw a song into the mix for further exploration in hopes that repeated airing with unearth some charm. The flavorful center of this song is the short guitar solo that leads us out of the chorus, but the rest of the song doesn't compel me to spin its combination of decent trash can drums and awkwardly deep vocals.

Bumps - "A Dumb Month"
Tortoise related effort on Peanut Butter Wolf's Stone's Throw melds deeply reverberated drums with some synth bits that typically don't make the two minute mark, limiting its potential usefulness as background music fodder and instead moving it into the realm of potential PSA backing. Too short for much of anything else.

Oh No! Oh My! - "Oh Be One"
"You are my only hope oh be one." If you get that forced sci-fi reference then you've understood the apparent point of this ep track. Not that there isn't anything else to recommend, in fact that persistent handclapped percussion and elongated oh-oh backing vocals are big pluses. Oh No! Oh My! always include a kitbag of interesting instruments on their releases and here a wandering piano touches the song in that special way.

Of Montreal - "Du Og Meg"
My unconscious mind has me reach for the latest Of Montreal during every trip to the record store, claiming further inspection will reveal 70's and 80's rock charms that will overwhelm my persistent reservations about their overly precious lyrics that seek impenetrability for its own sake. This ep track can be entered as evidence for the further exploration verdict, with a Buggles-esque horn flourish soon followed by a full-on sax solo wrapped around a tune that may or may not be about a girl caught up in the bottom reaches of a rock and roll lifestyle.

The Self-Righteous Brothers - "Graduated Cylinder"
To dash or not to dash? The website says nay, the cd case says yay. Either way I will gladly forgive the punny name thanks to their unpretentious blend of acoustic pop (with a smidge of electrified elements). This jangly confection of earnest vocals and plinked pianos gives the various elements plenty of space to shine along a path to an abrupt conclusion. The album suggests that if an extra instrument is needed to provide an increased cacophony quotient this band is willing to seek it out.

Bonnie Dobson - "Let's Get Together"
Revola reissue of this folky female with much more instrumentation than that description infers, as this cover of the Kingston Trio / We Five / Youngbloods song is lavished with plenty of strings (wait for the short solo near the end) and a period-perfect fat bassline. This song is also famously (and very effectively) quoted at the start of Nirvana's "Territorial Pissings"

First Class - "Dreams Are Ten A Penny"
Compilation of tracks from the band best known for early 70's hit "Beach Baby." I save these things for future Lost and Found applications, if I ever muster up the appropriate reservoir of patience to do a fill-in on that show again. In fact, this one explicitly states "lost and found" in the chorus, making it doubly useful in that regard. Otherwise it's typically overproduced early 70's chartpop which believes that if you're gonna slather on strings you might as well put a horn solo in there and if you've stumbled upon a decent chorus you might as well repeat it six times within 2:30.

John P. Strohm - "Sha La"
Former Antenna frontman and Blake Babies emmber spits out a solo record which hints at country-rock without quite crossing in the line. This song goes down much like an early 80's attempt by Jackson Browne to do powerpop, it's flavorfully smooth and certainly admirable if not terribly compelling. If it makes you happy ...

M Ward - "Beautiful Car"
Upon first listen this is a slight and simple guitar tune, quickly tossed off and released. Another pass with headphones reveals that quite a bit more effort was expended on these recordings beyond the initial mic and tape recorder setup. Even still it's tough to divine much of a lyrical point from this short reminiscence about a nice vehicle which includes a reference to a deceased schoolmate for flavor. Played on 7/5/07.

Howard Hello - "Lazy"
Their electronic inclinations ar emelded with some very precise acoustic guitars on this ep. Vocal track upon vocal track alternately talk, coo, float and burble with some phone company samples that eventually drop abruptly from the mix. Still it never diverges from its rather lazy pace and probably should end at least a minute before it finally wanders to a halt.

Misha - "Summersend"
So is that supposed to be summer's end or summer send? Not sure, also not sure if it matters. This song creates an initial impression as the work of an electronic based act but careful listening reveals the majority of the music is organically based, with a post-punk bass matched to gentle acoustic guitars and multi-layered male/female vocals (neither one very strong mind you). Their pastoral patience develops into a laid-back dance track vibe without ever suggesting a true destination.

Welcome to the Breakfast of Champions on WMBR,, this is the playlist for Thursday July 19th.

(8:00am - Today we explore the rather sparse "O" section in our vinyl library)
Opal - "Fell From The Sun"
Yoko Ono - "Even When You're Far Away"
Roy Orbison - "Falling"
The Ophelias - "I Dig Your Mind"
Orchestra Luna - "Were You Dancin' On Paper" (background music)

(8:15am - we start out in the ONE section and work our way to OR)
1000 Homo DJs - "Apathy"
The Onyas - "Run Amok"
Opposition - "The Frontier Mentality"
On The Air - "That's How Much I Knew"
Open City - "Difficulty, Braver Than Music" (background music)

(8:30am - a short break for our band of the week)
Broken Social Scene - "Stars And Sons"
Broken Social Scene - "Stomach Song"
One & Two Teenies - "Sunday Monday, Tuesday (Days of the Week)" (background music)

(8:45am - a final tour of the O section in our vinyl library)
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark - "Radio Waves"
O Positive - "With You"
One Plus Two– “Promise"
The Only Ones– “Another Girl Another Planet"
ONO - "Danger" (background music)

(9:00am - that means time for an hour of new music)
John Vanderslice – “The Parade”
Northern Picture Library – “Snowscene”
Low In The Sky – “Dialogue With A Shadow” (concert report music)

(9:20am - continuing the new music after the concert report is thru)
Aaron Ross – “Elevator Blues”
The Self-Righteous Brothers – “Graduated Cylinder”
Suzanne Vega – “As You Are Now”
Fionn Regan – “Black Water Child”

(9:40am - last chance to play something decent from the new rack)
Daddy's Hands – “Gentlemen You May Stand Down”
Interpol – “The Heinrich Maneuver”
Digitalism – “I Want I Want”
Misha – “Summersend”

(9:55am - final song of the show)
The Flesh – “The Truant”

Thanks for listening, for two weeks this program will be available through WMBR's streaming archives.

Today's playlist is good only for July 13th, 2007 and good only for the Breakfast of Champions on WMBR Cambridge MA

(8:00am - after a week's hiatus the cubbyhole returns to the 8am hour!)
Randy Newman– “Burn On"
Nerdy Girl– “Hate Me"
Colin Newman - "Feigned Hearing"
Nervus Rex - "The God Sheila"
Peter Nero - "(There's) Always Something There To Remind Me" (background music)

(8:15 am - today we're in the "N" section around NER and NEW)
New Bomb Turks - "Dragstrip Riot"
Neutral Nation - "I Wanna Drive"
Nervous Eaters - "Hot Steel and Acid"
Neurotic Swingers - "Sexy & Mysterious"
New Balance Crossover - "Intimate Encounter" (background music)

(8:30am - we brake for band of the week)
The Wedding Present - "Suck"
The Wedding Present and Amelia Fletcher - "Getting Better"
The Wedding Present - "Convertible"
Never Left - "Always There" (background music)

(8:45am - unfortunately the NEW section cuts off just before New Model Army ... sorry New Order fans!)
The New Christs - "Born Out of Time"
New England - "P.U.N.K. (Puny Undernourished Kid)"
New Math - "The Flesh Element"
Neutrons - "Dangerous Decisions" (background music)

(9:00 - the new music hour begins)
The Clientele – “These Days Nothing But Sunshine”
Erik Enocksson – “Thru Thick-Night”
Hans Appelqvist – “Freckenages Spa”
Earthless – “Sonic Prayer” (concert report music)

(9:20 - after the concert report, i'm still in love with you)
Future Conditional – “The Volunteer”
The Mary Onettes - "Void"
Dog Day – “End of the World”
Bat For Lashes – “What's A Girl To Do?”

(9:40 - more new music, some with girls even!)
Bottom of the Hudson – “Bee Hive”
Memphis – “I'll Do Whatever You Want”
Filthybird – “The Gospel Of Truth (As Judas Told It To Me)”
Ulrich Schnauss - "Here Today, Gone Tomorrow"

(9:55 - final song, my apologies)
Dandi Wind – “The Safety Dance”

Thanks for listening, if you missed it check out the archive for a streaming version of the program. But hurry, you only have two weeks from the day of broadcast!

Family obligations and the seasonal dry spell in summer releases have conspired to keep me away from the normal updates, and will continue to do so through the end of July. Still, I can at least offer up some thoughts on the latest group of entries into the station.

Pissed Jeans - "Secret Admirer"
I'm probably one of the few eagerly awaiting the revival of the AmRep sound ... that sludgy pre-grunge style of rock favored by bands like The Cows and Jesus Lizard and Tad. Pissed Jeans come as close to that target as any band has in the past 10 years or so, and while their punch is certainly as potent their songwriting lacks the inventiveness and black humour of their progenitors. If you're starving I suppose anything tastes good, and this certainly did when I spun it on 6/28.

Boo And Boo Too - "Everyday I Saw You In Egypt"
These guys get a bonus point for their very prominent use of sax, unfortunately an underutilized instrument in rock music today. The lead singer has been studying his Rock*a*Teens (we're talking about the band that was on Merge) records as he flaunts a very similar style of screaming and elongating his final syllables. Musically the sound isn't dissimilar, though of course nobody can replicate the Rock*a*Teens guitar tone, as least not without a huge wad of duct tape. The sound is rock and the pace is brisk and muscular, spun it on 6/28.

Filthybird - "The Gospel of Truth (As Judas Told It To Me)"
Loping mid-tempo song with lo-tech keyboards that accurately accentuate the yearning vocals. Can't tell if they're occasionally doubled or if an eeriely similar backing vocalist is joining in, either way the effect if uplifting. Her tone is similar to Frida Hyvonen, sort of a gulping sound with great harmony.

Hans Appelqvist - "Freckenages Spa"
This sample-based artist builds collages of mostly organic instruments with a few beats thrown in the mix. The backbone of this particular tune is built with delicate piano and cheap percussive sounds, adding in some unexpected bursts of unidentifiable noise and subtle strings. Very engaging and inventive.

Erik Enocksson - "Thru Thick Night"
Faux-folkish artist, or whatever the official slang word the press is using to categorize the efforts of the Devendras of the music world. A delicate Sufjan style acoustic guitar combines with bells and hushed wordless vocals to create a fitfully uplifting track.

Ping - "Dying on a Strange Day"
Whether they know it or not these gents drank heavily from the chalice of more recent Ween releases before recording this schizophrenic album. Name a 70's genre or style and Ping probably made an attempt to incorporate it into one of their songs, with mostly wearying results. The attempts at humour are a little too earnest for me as well, I'm pretty sure the next great 70's pastiche band will not come from Oslo.

Mod Fun - "I Fell"
A bit of serendipity here as their name came up on the cubbyhole feature 6.28, about the same time their new release dropped into the station. Half the new release is new, half are re-recordings of older songs. This is one of the latter, the subject matter has a strong resemblance to a certian Buzzcocks song but is more actual than theoretical. The only mod facet of this band is in the vocals, otherwise the sound is straight late 70's pop-punk.

Whistle Jacket - "Your Cheatin' Heart May Cheat (But It Tells The Truth)"
This Boston pop band sounds more ragged this time around. While the recording is still lo-fi, they've lost their punch from the previous release and ended up with a rather flat tone that accentuates nothing. Therefore the detail and charm of these tunes are mostly lost, perhaps it comes through better in a live setting.

Bottom of the Hudson - "Bee Hive"
With this release it feels like Bottom of the Hudson have entered their Mag Earwhig phase, where the recording quality increases at the expense of spontaneity. The whole record feels a bit self-conscious, as if the band more studiously attempted to cop the style of Robert Pollard and ended up drowning some of the inherent joy in the process.

Aaron Ross - "Elevator Blues"
The more standard length tunes of 4 minutes or less consistently annoyed me, mostly due to the singer's consistently flat and whiny note. Yet I was never tempted to push the FWD button during this 8 minute long tune which admittedly displays some of the same faults. Perhaps it's because of the much more restrained build to this song, as Ross doesn't venture beyond his limited range until more than 3 minutes into the tune. At that point the addition of some freakish percussion adds earned power to the pace. Plus, its length makes it feel more like a journey of self-realization than a marathon of patience, sort of like a Love Chronicles for a new century sans the love. Perhaps its more natural progenitor would be California One / Youth And Beauty Brigade, a day after the bliss of wanderlust has worn away.

Ryan Adams - "Everybody Knows"
Mark me in the negative column of the critical ledger for the new Ryan Adams album. It was difficult to find even one song that had some sort of spontaneous passion, which in my mind is Ryan's greatest gift. Even then, listening to this songs multiple times does little to build further appreciation, another missed Ryan hallmark. Theoretically repeated exposure should shoot this up the personal charts like other Ryan releases, instead it just slides off the opposite end of the scale.

Two Gallants - "Lady"
Speaking of artists who have that uncanny ability to earn my ardor with bracingly passionate efforts (in song that is), the Two Gallants are good for at least one jaw-dropping moment per release. Since this one is from an ep I'll give them a mulligan. It has a looser acoustic feel and the lyrics aren't quite as vivid as previous efforts. This tune still packed enough punch to earn a spin on 7/5, even with its 5+ minute length.

Suzanne Vega - "Zephyr & I"
Her last attempt to capture the super-polished AAA chick-flick soundtrack market failed unenthusiastically, the only fault in her impeccable catalog. I'll blame that one on the label, or at least the production of Rupert Hine. You can toss away any hesitancy when approaching this new record, as the production tone encased here is more akin to Days of Open Hand. Expect a somewhat cool and restrained but still clever and catchy effort that will reward multiple listens. Suzanne's music is a longtime bedfellow from back in my high school days, and it's pleasing to have her back in peak form. Played this song on 6/21.

Fionn Regan - "Back Water Child"
The hype from across the Atlantic has attempted to place Regan into the hallowed ranks of luminaries like Ryan Adams. His voice has a trill (or accent?) that seems forced to my ears and sours me on most of his simply constructed compositions. This is the most ornately decorated tune on the record, with lovely backing female vocals, subtle strings and even a piano playing along. These extra elements most likely allow me to forgive those other stylistic faults, at least for 3 minutes or so.

Damiak - "Faificun"
Used for concert report music on 6/28. Damiak (not DMAIC) meld electronics with dramatic rock stylings, a recipe not unlike Tristeza but with more reasonable song lengths. Just when you think they've fallen into a pleasant airport soundtrack groove they'll bust out some off-tempo clattering or cacophony to shake up the works.

Astral - "Transmitter"
Mix in some early 90's shoegazer guitar style with late 80's goth-rock execution and you'll likely get something from this new Astral ep. It comes complete with very hollow production on the drums, splashy shimmering guitars, a darkly omnipresent bassline, and growling vocals as it aims for that early to mid 80's Cure feeling. Played on 7/4.

Zibra Zibra - "Arcade Catastrophe"
As self-consciously retro as a casio-pop band can get these days, it quickly states its intentions upfront by namedropping the year 1984 and setting in motion a plotline cribbed from the Emilio Estevez segment of Nightmares. Needless to say, the album is completely inconsequential but reasonably executed nonetheless.

Digitalism - "Digitalism in Cairo"
This one is a case of expectations versus execution, or being pleased with what you get rather than hoping for something more. Before I stabbed the play button I was hoping for a revival of the energy and unpredictability of the early Daft Punk albums, a high standard indeed. Idealism comes close to fulfilling that promise, but eventually weakens due to its repetitiveness. Still, it's the best dance record of the year, not the equal of Vitalic's OK Cowboy but still a volume-knob cranker nonetheless. This particular song cadges an appropriate sample from The Cure's "Fire In Cairo" which earned it a spin on 6/28.

Chromeo - "Momma's Boy"
Anyone jonesing for the sonic imprint of early 80's synthetic funk or electro-soul are probably already well familiar with the charms of Chromeo from their effective first effort. This follow-up doesn't contain the same level of clever humour but comes close enough. Another disappointment is the replacement of fantastic instrumentals with skits featuring the musicians. All in all devotees should still be pleased with the effort, it was enough to warrant a spin on 6/28.

Spoon - "You Got Yr Cherry Bomb"
Strange that the latest Spoon feels half-baked considering how long it took them to follow up their breakthrough lp Gimme Fiction. Only this song, spun on 6/21, comes close to achieving the addictive powerpop style of the previous release.

Uncut - "Chain Fight"
Very dissapointing new release for these Canadian post-punkers, who so accurately replicated the early 80's sound on their debut disc. Here they've swappede energy and urgency for a bloated sonic treatment, as if they added layer upon layer of wax but forgot to polish.

Arks - "Maginot"
Speaking of post-punk we'll close out this edition with another entry into the revival. At least there some punch here though I was fooled into spinning this particular song on 6/28 before realizing it had not earned its reputation when compared to other tracks on the disc. Oh well ...

Playlist for Breakfast of Champions radio show Thursday July 6, 2007

(8:00am - reversing field this week with new music batting leadoff)
Airiel – “Mermaid In A Manhole”
Astral – “Transmitter”
Lights Out Asia – “End of the World”

(8:15am - more new music to soothe the sunburn)
Two Gallants - "Lady"
St. Vincent – “All My Stars Aligned”
M. Ward – “Beautiful Car”

(8:30am - band of the week time!)
Buffalo Tom - "In The Attic"
Buffalo Tom - "Souvenir"
Buffalo Tom - "Anything That Way"

(8:45am - concert report makes an 8am hour appearance)
Plants – “A Hidden World Exposed”

(9:00am - all so we can welcome Sarah and Christopher to the show!)
The Fratellis - "Creepin Up The Back Stairs"
Love of Diagrams - "The Pyramid"
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - "Berlin"
The Stone Roses - "Made of Stone"
Happy Mondays - "Kinky Afro"

(9:15am - they've pledged to do an hour on airtime on the program)
Jon Langford - "Lost in America"
Dead Can Dance - "American Dream"
Art Brut - "Moving to LA"

(9:30am - they are long long long long long long long long time listeners and donors)
Guided By Voices - "Over The Neptune/Mesh Gear Fox"
Matthew Sweet - "Devil With The Green Eyes"
Viva Voce– “From The Devil Himself"
The Broken West - "Down In The Valley"

(9:45am - and as such we treat them with the amount of respect commensurate to their haughty stature)
The Modern Lovers - "I'm Straight"
Blonde Redhead - "SW"
The Broken West - "Down In The Valley"
Ramones– “I Don't Want To Live This Life (Bonzo Goes to Bitburg)"

Thanks for listening to WMBR in Cambridge 88.1FM ... an archived version of this show is available two weeks from the broadcast date.